


Late To Class

by notstilinski



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Also This Is Canon Divergent With Some Things From Post-Season 2 But Not Much, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Hunk And Allura Are A Power-Couple Mentioned A Couple Of Times, I Just Barley Finished It Because School But It's Finished!, Lance Is An Idiot Through This Entire Think, M/M, Pidge Is Non-Binary In This Because Fuck The Writers, The Only Reason This Is Rated More Than G Is Because Some Alluding To Nasty Things, This Started As A Gift For My Best Friend, no beta readers we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 00:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17415557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notstilinski/pseuds/notstilinski
Summary: Maybe if he hadn’t been so drunk two weekends ago than he would have placed the other boy in a second. He could have remembered all the flirting that led to them locking themselves in the bathroom together for more than a good ten minutes.





	Late To Class

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was started for the sole purpose of my friend ships Klance hardcore and I wanted to write something for her before/when she goes back to school. But that doesn't mean that I kept everything straight since I stopped watching the show after season 2 (which is a big reason that this is canon divergent). Also the ending may seem a bit wonky since I couldn't figure out a good way to end it though I might write some short fic on their date. Maybe?

**( Text message from: The Hunk** **™ )** :  _ Mr. Iverson is running late, you still have time.  _

**( Text message from: The Hunk™ )** :  _ Seriously, Lance. He said you’re not allowed to be late anymore.  _

**( Text message from: The Hunk™ )** : _ Lance we seriously can’t distract him much longer.  _

**( Text message from: Pidgey )** :  _ Dude, Iverson is going to kill you. _

     A muffled groan of annoyance escaped him as he all but power walked through campus while expertly dodging people around him It wasn't his fault that he was always late! A lot of college students were just running on fumes and he was no exception. It just so happened that Lance was one of the worst offenders when it came to that. He was sure that if he didn’t get good grades on everything than it would be so much worse and he would have failed the class or something. Maybe next semester, he would avoid classes that were so early in the morning and have a better work schedule. There was a possibility that he could even manage to find a new job that he could handle better. 

      Lance had had multiple jobs before but everything took up so much time during the day. It had been luck that his older brother agreed to let him work at the store while he was in college. Did that mean that he would get better hours than he would if he worked anywhere else? Barely. All his time went to school or work- He barely had any time to relax, at all. Something that could explain why he always seemed so tense all the time. He had too many things to do and not enough time. Not to mention the fact that Lance always worked hard on everything he did so it became even more exhausting than it already was. There really was no question as to why he blacked out as soon as his head hit the pillow. It was no wonder why he always slept in after working the night shift. 

      Every time he tried to complain about it, Marco simply brushed his younger brother off. It created character and taught him better time management. Something like that. Marco once waved the complaints off and mentioned how he had to go through the same when he was in college. On really bad days, Lance had to stop himself from pointing out how Marco had dropped out the last year and never graduated. He knew that that wasn’t fair. As the oldest child, Marco had taken up the mantle of owning the store once their father was injured. Lance knew that his brother had simply done what needed to be done and he respected him for that. 

     He just wanted a little sympathy when he wanted to feel sorry for himself… Or a possible raise, really. 

      Thoughts were quickly forgotten as he all but slammed into something -or someone- that sent the bagel he had clamped in his mouth tumbling to the ground along with his phone. The only thing he could do was let out an indignant squawk as it happened. So much for breakfast, he thought to himself. He knelt down to gather his thankfully-not-cracked phone and his ruined breakfast while taking note that whatever he had run into was, in fact, a person. The books and papers scattered around them was a hint to that. Lance allowed himself to glance up as the stranger dropped down to his knees to gather his things. Blue hues narrowed slightly as he tried to work out if he recognized the stranger or not. It felt like he should. 

_       Maybe if he hadn’t been so drunk two weekends ago than he would have placed the other boy in a second. He could have remembered all the flirting that led to them locking themselves in the bathroom together for more than a good ten minutes. (And  _ maybe _ he would have remembered how pretty the other sounded or how much he loved the sound of his name falling sweetly from the other’s lips). He would have definitely remembered the knowing smirk they faced from Matt as soon as they opened the bathroom door to find him standing there.  _

      “Watch where you’re going.”

      The stranger’s voice caused his head to snap up and gaze to finally meet his. He looked as annoyed as Lance felt while a fresh wave of annoyance washed over him. 

     “It was an accident!” He scrambled back up to his feet, “watch where  _ you’re  _ going.”

      The stranger looked like he was about to respond but a chime from the thankfully not broken phone interrupted him. Lance quickly glanced at the text that had popped up on the screen.

     “Fuck!”

     All his annoyance and retorts for the stranger fell away as he stepped around him and rushed toward the building that his class was in. 

      Of course, Iverson had a great time as he chewed Lance out in front of the entire class before he reminded everyone of the acceptable amount of tardies. As well as the fact that anyone who was tardy so consistently would fail the class. Besides that minor hiccup? The class went on without a problem as Hunk nudged his notebook towards Lance so he could know what he had missed so far. Not much since their professor had been tardy himself which was rather ironic when they considered his annoyance at Lance when he was late. 

      The next two classes went by without any sort of problem and, thankfully, none of his other professors seemed to despise him like Iverson did. Lance found himself at the library after his last class which was part of his regular schedule. The addition of Hunk’s girlfriend, Allura, wasn’t anything too different. She was nice and the only real problem was how Lance had flirted with her -and how harshly she had turned him down- before he knew who she was. It was something that Pidge liked to tease him about every so often. 

      “You should really let one of us get you in the morning.” Hunk leaned closer to him with a worried look on his face. “It would be less stressful for all of us.”

      Lance merely arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t trust Pidge in the morning and watching you on cloud-nine wouldn’t be much better.”

     Did it make him sound annoyed at the fact that he was so, so single? Sort of. He watched as his friend ducked his head with a small flush to his cheeks. It was cute how sweet and bashful Hunk was at the mention of his relationship... Lance nearly jumped out of his skin when Allura suddenly leaned in from where she had been working with Pidge. 

     “Be serious, Lance,” she said with her eyebrows drawn together, “eve I heard about how Iverson chewed you out. You need to figure out a way to be on time to class.”

     His entire plan was to tough it out for the next few weeks then to avoid morning classes at all cost. Working early morning at the store would be so much easier than his current schedule. It would be a lot easier, too, since Lance  _ used _ to be an early bird. 

      “It’s fine,” he said with a small wave of his hand despite the disbelieving looks from his friends, “if Iverson was going to fail me or whatever, he would have already done-”

      “You’re Hunk right?”

      The group’s attention was quick to move away from him to the stranger that had approached them and- Hey! It was the punk from before class! Something crawled up his spine as his eyes narrowed. He didn’t seem to register Hunk’s conversation with the stranger or Pidge’s amused grin thrown his way. At the last second, the stranger’s own gaze snapped up and narrowed as their eyes met. It lasted for about a second before the stranger’s focus was turned back to Hunk.

     “Thanks. See you later?”

      Lance watched the final part of the conversation before he watched as the - _ punk _ \- stranger walked away. The movement of his head was the only thing that made him realize that Pidge had leaned in impossibly close to him. Something that he really on noticed when their cheeks brushed together and he jumped away from the feeling. 

       “What the fuck?”

       Pidge merely pushed their glasses into place before they peered at Lance over them. “Is there a reason that you were staring holes into his head?”

      There was a pounding in his head that had started halfway through his work at the library. It had stayed with him for hours even when his work was completed and he had to go to his actual job. He was glad that he was simply scheduled to work in the backroom and restocking the shelves. Lance wasn’t sure that he would be able to handle anything besides that with how much his head pounded. Some small part of him wanted to take the day off and simply rest for awhile. But he knew that he could power through it plus he needed the money. Not to mention the fact that he worked at his  _ family’s store _ . Marco would ask him about it if he said he was sick and, if he became worried enough, he would tell their mother about it. He loved his mama, he really did, but he didn’t want to worry her that much. 

      That was one of the reasons that Lance found himself at the family store only an hour or so later. He had found a rhythm of working that didn’t bore him or cause the headache to worsen. It was almost calming, after a certain point. Just a very brief and brainless task that he could do easily. The store had a warm but quiet buzz to it, almost like it knew about Lance’s headache. It was quiet enough that he could think back to when he was at the library with his friends. 

      “You really don’t remember him?” It was an hour in and Pidge still seemed to be surprised that Lance didn’t know the -punk- stranger that had approached Hunk.

      “His name is Keith,” Hunk had interjected as he glanced up from his work. 

      “He works with Shiro,” Allura added right after. 

Shiro was two years ahead of them and almost a celebrity on campus. Everyone seemed to know who he was. 

      “I could have sworn that you guys met before.” That was Pidge again. “Maybe from a party.”

      There was a small shake of his head as he focused back on the task at hand. It was stupid to get stuck on the question of how he knew that guy… Or if he even knew Keith to begin with. Did it matter that Pidge had been weird and insisted on bringing him up so much? No. Pidge was Pidge and they were weird. 

_       Maybe if he hadn’t been completely wasted than he would have remembered the night that they spent together. There had been a lot of kissing and slurred compliments. Sure, they had bickered a tiny bit but it was nothing serious. More playful than anything with the two almost in tears from laughing a second later. There had been a drunken promise of a phone call (maybe he had even promised a date) early the next morning. Maybe if he hadn’t been half-asleep and hungover than he would have also remembered that. If Lance had remembered than he would argue that Keith hadn’t called him, either. Did they even have each other’s numbers? _

      A soft chime from the front of the store signaled a new customer and he could hear his brother’s cheerful greeting. Okay, focus. Lance had to pay attention to the task at hand so he could move on to work in the backroom. It would help to keep Marco from noticing his spaced out state, after all. It would be easier to waste some time, too, if he finished his tasks ahead of schedule. A break… And maybe a nap?

     “Excuse me? Could you help me-”

     “ _ You _ .”

     The stranger’s eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed. “ _ Me _ .”

     “Are you stalking me?”

_      Why would he be stalking you? _ A voice in the back of his mind asked before he brushed it off. There was something that irked Lance about the stranger but he couldn’t explain what it was or why. As for the stalking question? It was a fair question! Keith had seemingly been everywhere that he was, minus his classes, for the past day. He may have been a bit dramatic but you had to admit that that was weird. 

     “Why would I be stalking you?” Keith sounded almost exasperated. 

     “I dunno,” Lance drawled as he leaned forward into his space to glare at him, “I’m not the stalker here.”

     Keith made a small noise of annoyance as he drew away from the other and rolled his eyes. For some reason, that made the tips of Lance’s ears heat up. He didn’t know what it was about the other that bothered him so much. Plus he usually liked everyone! Why was Keith so-

      Someone cleared their throat behind them. “Keith?”

      Shiro stood there with two grocery bags hanging from his hand as he eyed the two of them. The look on his face reminded Lance of the looks that Hunk or Pidge would sometimes give him. A look that clearly said ‘knock it off’ mixed with something else. 

      Keith took a couple of steps towards Shiro before he glanced back at Lance. “Why would I stalk someone who doesn’t call?”

 

      “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” 

      His outburst caused dozens of people to shoot him judgemental looks while Matt merely raised an eyebrow. Pidge looked like a reflection of their brother but with different clothes. No one seemed all too surprised that Lance had reacted like that. It wasn’t everyday, not for Lance McClain, that he learned that he had some sort of drunken hookup. He knew why Keith looked so familiar, at least. But it was a bit ridiculous that his friend group had gone  _ weeks _ without telling him. 

      “All we knew was that you guys made out in the bathroom. I didn’t realize that it was Keith,” Hunk said to defend himself. 

      It was okay if he and Allura didn’t know that much about it since he wasn’t upset with them. It was the other one that he was upset with. 

     “Who you hook up with isn’t any of my-” Matt started.

     “We didn’t hook up!” Lance cut him off quickly. 

     The older Holt barely seemed bothered by the interruption. In fact, he seemed to be judging Lance, of all things. Something that made the younger male want to snap at him. 

     “I’m pretty sure what you did is the definition of hooking up.”

      “We didn’t hook up!”

      "Whatever. Do you want his number or not?”

      Lance stared at his phone for as long as he could before he was forced to blink. The phone was dropped onto the couch as he buried his face into the pillows. Upon some prompts, he had agreed to text Keith if Matt gave him his number. He at least had to text him some sort of apology, right? Make it up to him… Somehow. The message was terrible, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t really do anything about it. He had sent the text on an impulse. 

      Almost three hours ago. 

      He could understand if the other male wanted nothing to do with him especially with how he acted. Every time that Keith had been snippy with him suddenly made sense. Lance had to cringe at the last conversation that they had- A stalker. He had called Keith a stalker. Sure, the fact that he seemed to be everywhere for a day but it was all circumstantial. He almost felt the urge to put his foot in his mouth. 

      Almost like it had been timed, his phone chimed beneath him. 

(  **Text message from: Keith from Matt’s Party** ):  _ That apology sucked.  _

Lance frowned and went to type his owen response to that. Fuck waiting to respond! He needed to-

(  **Text message from: Keith from Matt’s Party** ):  _ You can apologize and make it up to me over dinner and a movie this weekend.  _

**Author's Note:**

> Glad you made it to the end! If you liked it enough then you could leave a kudo or comment which would be appreciated. If you like my writing then maybe think about supporting me on ko-fi: or if you want to commission me for a fic then visit me on my tumblr (under the same name): notstilinski


End file.
